Holidays
by ironheartwriter
Summary: The first holidays since Ryan's death are quickly approaching, but not everyone may be ready to celebrate them.


AN: Hi everyone! It's been a _really_ long time since I've written anything, I know. But I was in the mood to write some fluff, so of course my mind went right to Maxton. This will _potentially_ be a series of three little drabbles, but we'll see what happens. Regardless, I hope this little fluffy piece is enjoyed.

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Mike winced as he reached up, fastening a string of multicolored Christmas lights above the doorway. Part of him knew that he shouldn't be doing this, but a bigger part of him didn't care. Max had bought the damn lights, the least he could do was put them up. Not that either of them really felt much like celebrating anything those days. It had been a long few weeks, between him being in the hospital, waiting day after day to hear if Ryan's body had somehow been found. But so far, it had been nothing. His body had never been recovered, though Theo's was found a few days after he had fallen off the bridge. Mike himself was healing. Not as fast as he would like, as was evident from the pain he got when he stretched to put the lights up, but he was trying to take it one day at a time.

Max was at work, while he was still on leave to recover from being stabbed by Mark. It was a slow healing process, but a necessary one, to say the least. He'd moved back into Max's small apartment once he had been released from the hospital. She wouldn't hear of anything else. It was easier to listen to her, rather than argue. The painkillers he was still on often made him drowsy, but when he was awake during the day, he found himself restless and bored. When his eyes fell on the Christmas lights, it seemed like the perfect task. Their small tree sat in a corner, waiting for its own decorations, but that would be something both of them did together.

Mike sighed as he stepped down from the step ladder, fastening the string to the wall along the doorpost. So far, so good, and minimal pain; that's what really mattered. Max was probably going to berate him for it, but it would be worth it. If he didn't do it then, they likely wouldn't go up at all. He kept working, going through the boxes of lights that Max had bought. Maybe she had gone a little overboard, but Mike was pretty sure she was using the thoughts of the upcoming holiday as a way to keep her mind busy.

She was genuinely the strongest woman Mike knew, now that he thought about it. She'd lost her entire family over the years, and yet somehow she still managed to come home at the end of every day and smile at him and help him heal. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard the soft click of the front door's deadbolt lock. He jumped slightly, but smiled as Max appeared.

"Mike, what are you doing?" Max tilted her head as she walked into the apartment, brushing snow from her hair and reaching to unzip her boots. She couldn't help thinking that Mike looked a little guilty. Then again, he often looked guilty when she caught him up and about. She knew that she was probably babying him a little too much, but it boiled down to the fact that he was really all she had left. She didn't want to take any chances with him. Well, there was Gwen too, and they both were working on assuring Gwen that they wanted her to be part of their family. But that was a process in itself.

Mike smiled at Max and walked over to her as she pulled off her boots. He kissed her softly, his hands on her hips, "I have something to show you," He said, his smile childlike as his eyes glimmered slightly. "Close your eyes."

"Okay…." Max said, her tone a little more than suspicious. She closed her eyes and Mike took her hand, cold from the New York winter, and led her into the center of the small apartment. He hit the light switch, turning off the lights, and turned on the surge protector that he attached all the Christmas lights to. The apartment instantly lit up with the glow of hundreds of multicolored lights.

"Open your eyes," Mike said as he walked back to stand beside her. He watched as Max opened her eyes and a look of amazement spread across her face.

"Oh, wow," Max whispered, looking around, her eyes seeming to glow along with the tiny lights. "Mike, this is incredible. How did you…?" Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him, "You were up on the stepladder. Mike, you _know_ you're not supposed to be doing anything like that. What if you had fallen off?"

"Max, the stepladder is like three feet high," Mike pointed out. "If I slipped, I slipped. It wouldn't have been the end of the world. I've definitely lived through worse."

"That's not the point, Mike," Max rolled her eyes as she looked away from him. "I'm _trying_ to keep you in one piece for longer than a month. I'd appreciate just a little bit of help; just a teeny tiny bit. It doesn't even have to be a huge effort."

"I think I could attempt that," Mike said, not entirely sure if Max was being completely serious herself or not, but he was pretty sure that she meant every word she said to him.

"Thank you," Max said, sitting down on the bed, her eyes continuing to reflect the lights, "Now that I've scolded you enough for the moment, I can tell you I really think you did a nice job. I honestly don't know when I would have gotten around to them myself. But you didn't do the tree…."

"I wanted to do it with you," Mike said in a soft tone. He sat down beside her on the bed, his back starting to ache more as the painkillers from the morning wore off. Max gave him a look that reflected the affection and love she felt towards him. She reached up and touched his face, her gaze never wavering from his.

"You're in pain."

"I'm okay," Mike shook his head, though leaning against her hand. "It's not too bad. Kind of like a dull ache. I'm not used to all the climbing and stretching that I was doing to get the lights up. I've got one hell of a long road before I'm cleared for duty again."

Mike knew that deep down Max wished he wouldn't rush back to the FBI, that he would take as long as possible to get back to work, but that just wasn't who he was. He _needed_ to get back to work, for his own sanity.

"Tell you what," Max said finally, a smile coming to her face, "Let me get out of my work clothes, you order some dinner, we'll put the tv on for some background noise, and we'll start decorating the tree."

"Sounds perfect to me," Mike said, his smile mirroring hers. He leaned in and kissed her softly before looking for his phone. It seemed, at least for the moment, that Max was done scolding him. He could live with that. "What are you in the mood for?"


End file.
